


ЯR Projekt III - What happened after

by ChosenOneFaith



Category: Gackt (Musician) - Fandom
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-27
Updated: 2016-12-08
Packaged: 2018-06-04 21:37:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 17,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6676291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChosenOneFaith/pseuds/ChosenOneFaith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>World War II, the Germans started to transform soldiers into Cyborgs. PROTO their first try vanished from the battlefield and they replaced him by another man. ZERO, being betrayed by his best friend got killed and transformed into the "Nibelungendemon".<br/>"Requiem et Reminiscence" is the story arc of a tour in the year 2000 made by GACKT. 2009 he continued this story with another tour and another protagonist. In RRIII you shall whitness what happens when PROTO and ZERO meet each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

How he hated those sounds now. The shrill whistle of the rockets was audible even here, nearly thirty miles away from the front line. At least for him, who was hiding in the abandoned houses. The front already pulled through here a few weeks ago leaving destruction in its wake. He wasn’t really excited about coming here, but the rumors that had been spreading in the area had gotten his attention.  
Two years had passed since he quit his troops, pretty sure that they would cease to exist without him. And he was right. Shortly after his disappearance they were dismissed, only to be re-created almost three months later. According to the witness reports, the unit was lead by HIM. And that was exactly why he was curious. The “Death God of Nibelungen”, as his enemies used to call him, vanished from the battlefield 2 years ago and yet there was this agitation and gossip that seemed to be true when he regarded his surroundings The few people he had met on his way here had been on the run, delivering him in fear only brief reports but everyone had told him the same thing. HE had come to their village and together with his unit moved the front line almost forty kilometers forward  
The fear in the eyes of the few survivors was no joke. He clearly remembered the situations, the panicked looks, and cries when he came out from the bushes by the roadside and approached them. Although the uniform was quite worn out after his hiding game all those years, it was still recognizable as the SS uniform it had once been. And people were scared of that uniform, in relation to his face.  
The young cyborg sighed and shuddered when another whistle followed by a hard explosion disturbed his thoughts. For his senses the war sounds were closer than for others', he could feel the seismic movements of the ground whenever a bomb exploded, he could hear the staccato of machine guns.  
To be entirely sure of what he was dealing with he had to get closer, risking being discovered and caught. He narrowed his eyes as the memories from his first attempt to flee flooded back. The threats, the humiliations, and the pain. They made sure he’d never forget them. He just didn’t know what part of him remembered the past. Was it the last part of humanity left in him or was it just the electric wires?   
The brown-haired sighed while leaning against the wall.   
The fleeing people had told him that the German unit was cornered and it wouldn’t take long for their defense to fall. Proto sighed; he was really tired of fighting. He gazed up at the sky, it was clouded but there was no rain. The scent of gunpowder permeated the slight breeze. .  
Yes, the war was far from over, even though he’d always told himself it would end soon.  
After Elena’s death he tried to convince himself he'd put an end to the war, the fighting, and the suffering. Later, when he realized that he wasn’t able to do as he’d hoped, he wished for it to happen with his disappearance. And the SS had found his twin.  
So far he still couldn't believe it. The young cyborg straightened up and stood up. Strolling through the abandoned houses he was caught in his thoughts, pondering over what he’d become and how everything had happened.  
Less than two years ago he used to be a human being, a simple soldier. Well, not that simple at all while being the leader of a guerilla troop always taking action when other SS troops were unable to handle a situation. Everything had been just fine, both his military career and his private life with Elena, his fiancée. Until the day everything changed forever. Elena was killed in an assault and he wasn't by her side to protect her and save her. The memories still haunted him even though they where supposed to have vanished. He’d suffered for months till he made his decision. He wanted to forget everything and a new research project caught his interest. The army was looking for a way to create a super soldier, a cyborg, but they were in need of volunteers for the test phase. In exchange for his memories and normal life he decided to become a machine with more power, more knowledge and faster reflexes than anyone else in his unit. That way he hoped to end the war sooner, to forget Elena’s death and to make the world a safer place for everyone he ever held dear in his life.  
But things didn’t work out the way he’d hoped. After his transformation they used him even more than before. They scheduled operations into innocent cities, commanded raids and death. Any attempt to ignore those orders was punished.  
When he found out that the highest commander of his old unit was part of the assault that had killed Elena he lost his temper. He killed the man and faced a more severe punishment, though the satisfaction of revenge wasn’t enough to appease his soul.   
At this time the idea to flee was growing in his mind waiting for the right moment. A few months later he was able to separate from his unit and vanish. He never knew what the scientists had changed in him, the young man he once forced for information wasn’t able to give out more than a few codes and scenarios.  
He’d already been on the run for around four months and nothing happened. He expected a kind of a self-protection mechanism to prevent his falling into wrong hands but nothing happened. And honestly he hadn’t really thought about it at all. But the talk about him on the battlefield made him curious.  
And that was the reason he was there now, crawling through the ruins getting closer to the cornered unit meter by meter. That was the way they’d come and that would be the way they had to take in case of fleeing from complete destruction.   
A series of detonations shook the ground and made Proto grab hold on a wall. It didn’t sound like an attack on the enemies. He held on to the wall for a little longer till he was sure nothing would follow and went on faster.  
Uneasiness grew in him when it was silent. There wasn’t a fight back to hear, nor further attacks. That didn’t sound good for either of the sides. The black-haired stopped and listened. He tried to hear any sound, anything that would prepare him for what he had to expect. But there was nothing to hear. Only silence. He sighed and pondered. Was it really a good idea to go there now? Or should he wait till he was sure that nothing else would happen? He stood stil for a few minutes and decided it would be better to wait. The sun was about to set, even though one couldn't see it through the dark clouds, and it grew even darker.  
Seeing in the dark wouldn't be a problem but since he didn’t know what he was dealing with he felt that approaching at daylight was a lot safer. Another night under the sky. He looked around and decided on one of the houses that still looked like it wasn’t going to fall apart any minute and was located slightly away from the main street. If anyone passed by at least they wouldn’t notice him so soon.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The night wasn't quiet, not that he expected it to be, but the trucks and other vehicles that were rolling into the night through the small village really made sure that he wasn't able to relax. Since they were all driving toward the battlefield, he assumed that they were German trucks even though he didn’t bother to get up and see for his own. The cyborg stood up and looked around. It was still early but it was actually just right for him, so he had plenty of time to look around. He left his hiding place and looked around at the street. The tire tracks were clearly visible and he recognized them as material or supply vehicles. Tanks had not been there. Proto pulled the jacket a little tighter and slowly followed the tire tracks. The closer he got to the battlefield the more cautious his movements grew, the more attentively he observed the surroundings. Here, no stone was left on another. The air smelled like gunpowder, he saw small fires by the wayside. Just in time, he heard the voice in front of him, stopped abruptly, and hid behind the wall in order not to be seen.

"Can it still move?"  
The voice was cold and indifferent; Proto slightly stretched his neck to see better. About three hundred feet away from him there stood an officer in front of some debris. From his position he couldn’t tell whether there was something in front of him or whether the man was just hallucinating.  
"We received more movements, and there are still signs of life," was the response of an ordinary soldier behind him with a receiver in his hands. Something had to be there at the debris.  
Proto sighed and left his cover. To know what it was all about he had to know what the men saw. It was a group of 10 men or so, a senior officer, a somewhat sad-looking middle rank officer and a few sergeants who were respectfully standing behind the higher rank officers.

The black-haired was turning from one ruin to the next. But the group of men was too distracted to notice him. He reached a ruin to the right of the rubble heap and got on his knees. Now he was closer to the group but was finally able to see what they saw. Slightly he leaned forward and his breath seized up.  
In his hiding game he’d already come across dead soldiers and one look was enough to prove it was probably another cyborg like Proto. A whole unit consisting only of cyborgs? That was new to him, but what he saw surpassed even that. Leaning against the the rubble there was another cyborg, Proto could see that there was not much left of him anyway. He was legless and one arm had been severed above the elbow. Presumably after the explosions that he’d heard the night before. But what shocked him most was the other's face.  
This cyborg on the ground over there was him ... Or rather, an almost perfect copy of him. The black-haired gulped and observed the scene in front of him. That was the cyborg everyone mistook for Proto. But how had they found a man who looked so much like him? Proto's thoughts were rotating and yet he was closely watching the scene before him.

"Did you think you could escape? You're nothing more than a trained dog. A puppet. A piece of junk. What's wrong? Are you sad because your comrades have fallen? Cry for me like a real man. Can machines do that?"  
The officer sat down beside the cyborg, a cigarette in his hand, and seemed to enjoy his triumph. Proto couldn’t help wondering if he would dare to do that if the cyborg were still completely functional. He came to the conclusion that it would be out of the question and smiled softly. It was always the same. Those officers were of higher rank than the leaders of the units which they sent to the front, both man and machine. But they would never dare to treat them condescendingly nor provoke them. They feared that the machines that fought in battles on their side would turn against them. That was what his behavior taught them. Along with the punishment the murder of his superior brought Proto respect. No one spoke against him or treated him derogatorily anymore. And the officer in front of him seemed to be no different from others. Were his twin able to stand and be fully operational that man would certainly not take such a high risk.

Proto sighed. He felt sorry for the other. Even though the situation made it look like cowardice, at least in the broad sense the officer was right. They were trained dogs and puppets created to follow orders without thinking about how and why. Either way, that had been the plan, but they couldn’t take their own will from them. Sure they were following orders but with a sufficient amount of self-confidence and willpower they were able to refuse orders or have their own way.

The officer stood up again and cast a disparaging look at the cyborg at his feet.  
"I've had enough. Kill him."  
The man next to him winced. Apparently he didn’t really like that idea but he kept quiet. And then the battered body on the ground spoke. His words made Proto smile, because somehow they contained more truth than he had always assumed before.  
"It seems that the machines would be those with greater humanity."  
"What? Fucking machine!" The officer swung around and grabbed the machine gun of the bewildered soldier beside him. A string of shots went down on the defenseless man, involuntarily Proto turned away, leaned back against the wall, and swallowed hard. It felt like minutes and was probably only seconds until the staccato of gunfire died away.

"I want nothing left, not a single trace of it." The officer was breathing fast and one could feel the anger bubbling in him. Surly he turned away to leave. "What nonsense!"  
The officers followed him in haste; only the man who had been standing next to him remained rooted to the spot. Looking at the bruised body of the cyborg in front of him, he approached him with heavy steps and fell on his knees in front of him. Proto turned around again and was watching the scene.  
"I've done something unforgivable ---." Tears were streaming down the man’s cheeks, he was shaking. There was something weird about the scene. What had the man done? Proto watched as he drew out a purse and was looking for something there. A small piece of paper came out and the man put it gently into the hand of the cyborg in front of him.

"That's a piece of --- --- your memories," he sobbed again. "I'm sorry --- sorry, sorry --- I'm so sorry. Forgive me." With these last words, he jumped up and ran away.

Proto waited a few seconds before he straightened up slowly. The battlefield was empty, but he knew it wouldn’t take long before it would be filled with soldiers and equipment. Closely observing the young man he slowly approached him. Except for the hairstyle he really looked like his twin. He sighed softly. Thus he was the one who people mistook for Proto. His eyes fell on the other's hand and he bent down to pick up the piece of paper which turned out to be a piece of a photo. There were three people in it, the soldier in front of him, the officer who had just run away, and a young woman. Proto gulped at the sight of something. The woman looked a lot like his Elena. He looked away as he perceived a slight movement right from the corner of his eye. The fingers of the cyborg on the ground were still moving. Proto got down on his knees, put the photo back in his hand and watched him for a few seconds. A light red flashing could be seen in the eyes. He was not dead yet, or however one should describe the state followed by his existence. The sound of oncoming cars distracted him and he turned around. Even though the trucks were still far away it probably wouldn’t last long. Proto's gaze slid over the terrain. He could not explain why, but something in him didn’t want to leave his twin to his fate there. Would he take him away like that ... without legs and with only one arm? His gaze slid over the other cyborg and he nodded slightly. That was probably the only chance he'd have, and he had to hurry.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The black-haired moaned and slid down the wall. His gaze wandered to the torso he’d put beside him and he nodded slightly satisfied. The vital signs that he’d felt on the battlefield were still there, and he hoped they would remain strong enough to be worth the trouble. He wondered what had made him take the other with him. It didn’t concern him and he didn’t even know if he’d ever be able to save the man next to him but somehow he felt like he had to at least give it a try. His eyes fell on the coat that he’d used as a bag. In the haste he’d tried to gather all the necessary limbs and wrapped them in a coat he found there. Now he was back in the ruins where he’d spent the day before, he could hear the trucks of cleanup squads on the battlefield behind him and had absolutely no idea of what he’d gotten himself into. He was neither a biomechanic nor bioengineer. He had no knowledge in those fields. For the time being though, he’d need a quiet safe place. These ruins were clearly not what he needed. The very proximity to the battlefield was dangerous for them. Once again Proto stood up and looked around. There was only one way left, the one he'd come there the day before, back through the forest. He remembered that the day before he arrived there he was staying in a house. It was not as dilapidated as the buildings there and was tucked away from the main road. That should suffice as a shelter for a while... should suffice. He took a deep breath before he loaded the other one back on his shoulders, grabbed the bundle and took the road.

It took longer than he remembered but he knew why. Several times he had to take detours in order to avoid soldiers and therefore he lost time. But he was nevertheless relieved to see that the house was still standing and appeared to be empty. He pushed open the door and stepped inside. His gaze slid over the interior and he nodded. Nobody had been there in his absence. Proto put the torso on a chair and put the bundle next to it before he closed the door behind him. At least they were safe there even if he didn’t know for how long. He looked at the man in front of him, let out a sigh and sank onto the chair opposite him.  
"What do I do with you?" He knew he’d get no answer, although the flicker in the cyborg’s eyes was still there but it was weaker and less frequent. He sighed and closed his eyes as he leaned back. He had to start, if he wanted to do it. Proto tried to remember what the scientist told him a few months ago about their functioning, the neural pathways and connections. What was he going to do? He stood up and went to the cabinet on the other side of the room. When he was hiding there he looked around thoroughly. The house had been abandoned in haste therefore it was also completely equipped. The former residents’ dinner was still on the table when he was there before, so the first thing he did was take away the dishes. He opened a cabinet drawer and pulled out the tools.

"Well then, let's see ..." He stepped back to the table and swept it with his arm once again to clean it before he lifted the other’s torso and laid it there.  
"I hope you have enough willpower to survive that too ...." he mumbled before he slid his hand over his back, slowly moving around the neck. It had to be there somewhere. He ran his fingertips over the skin and smiled, satisfied, as he felt a small unevenness right at the hairline. He found what he was looking for  
"Now you’re turning off .... see you later ..."  
Proto looked the other in the eyes and flipped the switch he’d touched with his fingertips. The eyes flickered for the last time before slowly closing. Again he took several deep breaths before he picked up the bundle from the ground and got to what he’d decided to do.

A glance at the clock and out of the window told him that several hours had passed. It might as well have been a whole day. More than once he would take frustrated breaks to reconsider his steps and actions and partly undo them. Now he put the improvised tools aside for the last time and stretched. He finished it ... even if he didn’t know what the result would look like. He sat down on the chair and closed his eyes for a few minutes, reconsidering every move he’d made in the last hours. Had he done everything right? Would that work at all? Or was all it in vain? He sighed deeply and opened his eyes again. He’d probably never know if he didn’t try it.

The black-haired stood up and put the tools aside, then stood next to the table. Once again his hand slid down the neck of the man in front of him and he flipped the switch, stepping back and watching the reactions. He heard how the computerized elements booted, and watched, fascinated, as his counterpart's eyes slowly opened. There was still discontinuous flicker in the pupils but there were no error messages anymore. Proto stepped closer to the table and watched as the look in the other's eyes was slowly getting clearer and he began to move his fingers. A smile crossed his lips. Apparently he’d made no mistakes after all and the functions were fully restored. The other moved his head and looked around vacantly. Proto wasn’t sure if he was doing it in order to explore the surroundings or to test his movements. He didn’t even know whether the other was already awake to register anything. He sank onto the chair watching his twin slowly awakening to life.

His eyes wandering discontinuously, he moved his head and limbs. Where was he? What happened? The young cyborg remembered the attack, the grenade explosions and his superior. Who stood before him, laughed at him and.... shot him. The cyborg sat up jerkily, his eyes were moving fast, he was scanning every nook. Something was wrong, why was he still alive? And where the hell was he? A house? How had he come there? Questions raced through his mind and he shivered. He could hear a voice but he didn’t understand what it was saying and where it was coming from. Was it his imagination? Due to the rapid movement the room began to spin and he made himself fix a point before his eyes in order not to fall over. Suddenly a face appeared in his field of vision.  
"Slowly... you're not fit for such actions yet..."

Proto jumped up as the other sat up abruptly. He was worried that such movements could be bad for him and was more worried when he noticed how the cyborg was swinging. He’d spoken to him for a while but received no reply and his violent reactions made him even more concerned.  
The black-haired carefully stretched out his hand to help the other one but then started back as the latter gave him a violent blow to the torso. Anyone other's chest would have been severely injured but Proto just took a deep breath before approaching the other cyborg again, that time he caught his hands and held them.  
"Hey calm down... no one's going to hurt you."

It took him a few minutes to gain partial control over the cyborg. The latter possessed enormous strength and yet he seemed to be somewhat restricted. Proto knew that they were able to develop a great strength but the man opposite him looked as if he had was unable to really exploit that potential. Whether it depended on his craft work over the last hours or was planned at the construction, however, he couldn’t tell, nor did he care about that at the moment.  
"Who are you? Where am I?"  
Questions were pouring down and he was staring at the man in front without really perceiving him. He wanted answers, the situation was overwhelming. He should have been dead; he remembered what the officer said. >> I want to see no trace of him left << he should no longer be alive so what happened?

"Calm down ... My name is Proto ..."  
He wasn’t used to reveal his name to anyone. Previously, at any encounter he would avoid being recognized. But something told him he could trust the young man, they shared the same destiny, even if he didn’t know to what extent.  
"P ... Proto?" Something began to stir in his mind. He knew the name, he’d heard it before. Just when, where? Once again his gaze slid across the room but the fact he could process what he saw was reassuring. The house was abandoned, except for the person in front of him there was nobody there according to his sensors... wait ... even the person in front of him shouldn’t be there. His gaze slid in Proto's direction again, he stared at the man before him and blinked irritated as the parameters before his eyes seemed to be playing a trick on him.

He had a feeling of looking in the mirror and the data that was slowly getting together still irritated him more than the sight alone. His counterpart wore an SS officer's coat and actually looked like his twin. Date of birth, statistics and other information was flickering before his eyes and he blinked rapidly to stop the confusion. That was impossible. He raised his hand to his forehead and groaned quietly. All the information caused him headache and he closed his eyes.  
"What's your name?"  
Proto had been watching the young man and was able to get an idea of what was going on inside him. Therefore, he just smiled mildly and sat down on the chair again in order not to pressure him.

"Zero ..." was the terse answer he received, and he raised an eyebrow. Well at least he knew the other’s name even though he hadn’t found out anything before that moment. He was silent and watched as the other man was moving his arm before his eyes as if he saw it for the first time. In fact, it was probably also because it was the arm that Proto had attached.  
"What happened? After.... he shot?" Slowly Zero turned to Proto, gave him a puzzled look before moving his legs and looking at them with the same fascination as before.  
"I have ... kidnapped you." Proto smiled wryly and looked at the other. "Kidnapped you and brought you here... and then.... tried to fix you. Looks not bad." He smiled as the other looked at him quizzically.  
"You know your way about it?" Zero's question sounded more than skeptical even though he knew that it had to be so good after all, he could actually move his arms and legs like before.  
Proto shrugged his shoulders.  
"Let's say I have some experience with it. But I never really studied anything." He knew that Zero had scanned him, but he had no idea what info about him the researchers had loaded into the young cyborg. He seemed to have heard Proto’s name and it meant they had, after all, taught him a few things.

Zero blinked as his eyes wandered on the other once again, this time he was checking out the information before his eyes with more attention.  
// Born on 04 July 1917 Name: Proto, Birthplace: Salzburg / Austria, Height: 180cm ... Assault unit leader // Zero’s mind was racing as he put together the data like puzzle pieces. This was the man to whom he owed all that. This was the man whose memories mingled in his head over a month ago almost leading him to madness.  
Proto noticed the change in the other’s behavior and took a step back reflexively. Not that he was afraid, the younger was not really in possession of his faculties yet, but he’d learned not to underestimate anyone in certain situations. And something inside him was telling him that was one of those 'situations.'

"Zero? What is it?" The black-haired was staring at him for a while, then his shoulders slumped and he let out a soft, resigned laugh. Now Proto was certainly bewildered. A moment ago the other acted like he was going to attack him the next second, but now he was depressed and cautious.  
"You ... it's your fault?" the younger muttered and it took Proto a few seconds to even understand his words, so quiet they were.  
"... What exactly do you mean?" He had an idea but he dared not think that it were true. That could not be.  
"All of this happened… because of you...." Proto's hopes shattered like a broken mirror. One actually regarded the other as his replacement. But why? How were they able to find someone who had voluntarily undergone all this? He looked at the younger and sighed. It struck him like a bolt from the blue. The man before him hadn’t volunteered to become what he was. They’d forced him. Every other second guilt was burning inside Proto. He sat down on the chair and looked at Zero.  
"What ... what happened?"

He didn’t really expect an answer because the other’s words still rang in his ears ... "A part of your memories…"  
Apparently they had also taken away the memories of his life. Their eyes met when the other gave a soft sigh.  
"I ... don’t know everything ... I just know that my best friend ... or the person I considered my best friend, betrayed me. I walked into a trap, and when I came around... I was here..." The younger man heaved a deep sigh and turned around the table.

"And since about a month ago ... I’ve had something like blackouts. I remember situations, faces and events of which I'm not sure if they are my memories or those of another. It feels like I’m losing myself." He swallowed and stared at the floor.  
Proto watched him and sighed softly. To him those memories sounded so familiar. But were they really able to manipulate thoughts? Were they not human anymore, even their own memories no longer belonged to them?  
"And ... I hear voices ... or rather only one voice... telling me I should go..."  
Zero’s words tore Proto out of his thoughts and he blinked quizzically.  
"One voice?"  
Zero looked up slowly, let his eyes slide on Proto who was sitting on the chair in front of him and then looked him right in the eyes.  
"Your voice ..." he muttered under his breath but perfectly certain. In the past weeks he hadn’t been able to organize his thoughts but now that he was talking to the other cyborg he knew whose voice had been telling him over and over to flee, to leave everyone behind and disappear.

The black-haired blinked questioningly and looked at his counterpart.  
"My voice ... but ... until yesterday I've never seen you... and until a week ago I had no idea... you existed." Proto was definitely confused. Why had the younger apparently heard his voice and why precisely in that context? He seemed to stare at the other because he began to move restlessly around the table.  
He shook his head resignedly and stood up.  
"I don’t get it how you have heard my voice, nor how I had something to tell you... but in light of what happened yesterday... it may have been a good idea to listen to me."  
The younger man shivered slightly as he remembered what happened the day before. He looked at the other and sighed softly.  
"I ... I just don’t understand. Why?"  
Proto shrugged his shoulders. He really had no idea. He hadn’t been there and had only seen a part of what happened.  
"Who was the man who knelt beside you?"  
He saw tears in the corners of Zero’s eyes when the other man left him, sobbing. Proto fished out of his pocket the torn picture that he’d taken from the other’s hand, before he took him away from the battlefield.

Zero's eyes grew dim as the memories of the battlefield flashed through his mind.  
"That was ... my best friend ... at least I thought so ... until a while ago," he muttered under his breath.  
Proto sat down on the chair and was waiting for what the other had to say, he had a feeling there was more coming.  
The younger one was staring at the photo in his hand and seemed not to notice the tears in his eyes. His fingers were lightly running over the faces of the three people in it and the cyborg seemed captivated.  
"He... has betrayed me..." he continued quietly. "Ryuichi... has betrayed me... and let me become what I've become."

Proto felt the pain and the sadness that resonated in Zero's voice. Nevertheless he didn't move, waiting if the other had more to tell. He wanted to know the person in front of him, he wanted to know the young man who was chosen as his successor. The man who’d been turned into a machine to win a war one couldn’t win.  
"He... told me he’d have something important to discuss with me and I had to... see him in the lab." Zero's words were no more than a low whisper that faltered over and over when he tried to maintain his balance.  
"I went to him .. but when I came in... he wasn’t alone. Several soldiers overpowered me and..... Ryuichi ignored my cries for help. He watched as they took me away."

Zero swallowed hard as he shook his head.  
"I... I don't know why he did it. What happened after that … all I know is... when I came to my senses ... I was here," he continued.  
There was a touch of sadness in his voice but also something like satisfaction. Proto couldn’t get it why. He himself was proud of what he was, after all, he’d volunteered, and the fact he'd survived the transformation was not a matter of course as he found out back then. But the young man there had been forced, they had intentionally murdered him to make him a machine. The older man shook his head slightly before he looked at his counterpart again. He blinked when he noticed the latter’s quizzical expression


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"You're not listening anymore." Zero looked at the other with raised eyebrows.  
"Sorry ... I was just a little confused by what you said. You've been forced to become what you are... and yet ... now you don't seem to… grieve over it. This doesn’t really go well together, or I simply can’t quite put my finger on their connection." Proto smiled slightly. He was really overwhelmed by his twin’s mindset but he wanted to understand him.  
"Well ... I realized I can't undo what happened ... and yet... I won't say I'm better than before ... it's just that I'm different." Zero couldn’t really explain it. It struck him when he was talking on the battlefield. He’d become human, even though he wasn’t human anymore. And somehow... he was proud without really knowing where it would take him. His gaze wandered through the little house.

"I'm assuming this isn’t your house ..." he muttered as his gaze fell on the open cupboards and things shuffled together hastily.  
"No it's not. When I stopped by on my way to the front it was already empty. I think the owners took flight when they heard the front would move forward." Proto twitched his shoulders and looked at the younger again. "But it provides good protection, nobody will check if there's anyone inside and we're safe here for now."  
"Do you think we should stay here? Or... would it be too risky?" Zero wasn’t sure what to make of the place but he didn’t feel like leaving in his condition either. Although he could stand, his legs still felt a bit wobbly. Speaking of legs... His gaze slid down and he furrowed his brow slightly.

"What exactly... have you done?" He asked his counterpart who shrugged his shoulders slightly apologetically.  
"Well, I've got you ... patched up. In any case, as well as I could with my knowledge."  
"I know ... that my legs and my left arm ..." Zero gulped slightly at the memory of how the detonation of the rocket had dismembered him in the ditch.  
Proto nodded slightly, he could sympathize with what the other was thinking and going through.

"I know ... I've tried to .. well… repair it. Seems like not bad or ... do you have any problems with your movements?" Proto looked at the younger. Since the other woke up he’d noticed no discomfort in the new limbs. Zero stood up and moved his arm as if it were the most natural thing in the world.  
The brown-haired raised his arm, moved his hand and looked at it, then slightly shook his head.

"No ... there are no problems... it all functions very well ..." he muttered as he looked at himself again.  
"You haven't answered my question... Will we stay here or is it too dangerous?"  
It took Proto a while to understand the question, he put his hand to his chin thinking about what to say.  
"Honestly I don't know. Before going to the front I spent a few days here and it was safe... but I don't know how it’s going to be now that apparently the front has shifted back again. Maybe we should hit the road not later than tomorrow night and look for another place to hide.”

Zero nodded slightly as his gaze slid across the room. He assumed that the other hadn't changed anything during his stay. Every little detail stamped on his mind, the dishes, the lovable, albeit slightly destroyed decorations. He squinted slightly as his gaze slid on the individual furniture. Was he there when they were passing by? Or had the inhabitants of this house fled before his arrival? He couldn’t remember, and even if it were that way, that was one of the many memories that he tried to banish from his mind. He noticed that the other was watching him, but he ignored it as he slowly stood up and walked through the room.

The younger one looked around examining every piece in the little house; now and then he’d take some of the abandoned things in his hand to give them a closer look. Every other minute he was astonished when simple things seemed like magic.  
"The front is now shifting back, am I right? Probably we'll have our shelter only until tomorrow noon at the latest."

Zero was rather talking to himself and thus the elder didn’t make an effort to respond. He was watching the younger as the latter was observing his world as if it were completely new to him.  
"However as long as we have the opportunity for a relatively quiet roof over our heads, we should also take advantage of this and get some rest."  
Zero nodded looking at the elder absently.  
"And how exactly do you imagine that? I .. I can see only this table and, well, the bedroom ..."

Somehow the idea of lying side by side with the other was unpleasant to him. When he looked at the other he still had a feeling of looking in the mirror.  
"You're welcome to go to the bedroom. I'll stay here. You need rest more than I do."  
He smiled at the younger as he pointed at the bedroom door. He felt that the other was suspicious of him, he noticed uncertainty towards him as well as nervousness.

Zero just nodded slightly before he made his way to the bedroom.  
"However, we shouldn’t stay here for too long... I'll wake you up in the morning so that we have a relative advantage over the retreating troops."  
The younger cyborg turned to Proto and nodded again, wondering where they should go. He knew what he’d left behind to destruction and he also knew how suspicious the survivors were of anyone wearing uniform.  
He sighed before he went to the bedroom, lay down on bed without hesitation and stared at the ceiling. Messages were still appearing within his field of view, both their cause and meaning were unclear to him and really just gave him a headache. He sighed and closed his eyes, trying to fight the recurrent headache. To his own surprise, it didn’t take long before he fell asleep and slept dreamlessly and calmly.

It took Proto long to finally fall asleep. Or get into a state that felt like that. Even in his sleep he was always attentive and on guard. Every little noise made sure that his body tensed to be able to defend himself any moment. But it was quiet. Most of the time his thoughts would return to the events of the day and to the words of the younger cyborg on the battlefield. 'Machines are more human than people ...’ Apparently that statement was not untrue. One human had betrayed another, humans had killed him to make him into a machine, humans had started the war in order to use the machines... and did humans not try to destroy those machines when they proved uncontrollable? With those repeatedly circling thoughts Proto woke up the next morning and blinked sleepily until a noise in the next room made sure that he was wide awake. The clatter of dishes and cans in the adjoining kitchen caught his attention. Now there was no one else there other than Zero, he was receiving no other signals in close vicinity. And yet he rose slowly before going to the small adjoining kitchen which in terms of size resembled a storeroom. Zero was standing at the cabinet searching for a few food cans still left. For a while he watched the younger silently until the latter stopped and turned around to him.  
"Found anything?"

"Not much..." Zero's eyes slid to the small kitchen table on which he’d piled a few cans on an old tablecloth and he shrugged his shoulders.  
"Would be enough for two or three days. Hope we can find something else till then."  
Proto smiled slightly and nodded.  
"Of course we can," he muttered as he turned around and left the kitchen, knowing that the other would follow him. He looked around the living room, removed the traces of their presence so far and straightened up.  
"I think... we should get out of here. The front is moving farther back here...." His gaze slid over the other.

"Do you think you can manage?" He was still not sure of his work to say that the younger cyborg was fully operational again. He could stand, walk and talk and seemed at his best level concerning coordination and other functions but who knew what was to come? Would the other be able to defend himself in case of emergency? Would he be able to escape? They probably had no other choice than to try and take the risk.  
Zero nodded slightly as he threw the folded up tablecloth over his shoulder.

"I'm fine... we can go... but... where?" He looked at the older one, then turned away to the window.  
"Away from the front, I’d say, back into the land. We’ll try to make our way through the forest and look for shelter in abandoned houses like this one. Anyway... as long as they are still standing."  
"Don't you think maybe we should get other clothes?"

The younger cyborg blinked quizzically as he walked to the door. Proto hadn’t thought about it yet. Of course, anyone would recognize them in the SS uniforms. They’d have to take care of that if they had a chance. He hadn't found clothes that would fit him in either of the houses where he found shelter before, and therefore nothing was left to him but to wander in the uniform.  
"We'll have to look for clothes in every house. So far I haven't found anything but maybe next time will be different... I hope."

The younger cyborg nodded, opened the door hesitantly, put the bag over his shoulder and stepped outside. He still felt a little weak but was more than willing to go on. Not wishing to see the battlefield, without a moment's pause he ran in the direction from which he’d moved with his unit. Away from the border and back into the land.  
Proto followed him slowly, paying attention to every sound around them while inching their way through the forests and villages, or whatever remained of them. More than once they had to avoid troops, take turns or hide motionless.

Again and again they had a feeling of running in circles, only the changing environment, the trees and the ruins were the clues that wouldn't let them get completely lost. When it was getting dark they looked for a place to spend the night. The front was behind them, probably a few miles away and for a few hours they didn't see troops on their way anymore. Without a word the older one pointed at a path branched off from the main road; he disappeared among the trees and ended up in a cave, hidden between rocks, trees, and bushes so well it was only their eyes that were able to detect the entrance from where they were standing. It wasn’t a house but it would offer them shelter for the night. Zero nodded and walked up to the entrance slowly. "It’s not abandoned..." he muttered under his breath as he turned to Proto.

Proto registered the movements inside the cave too, the heat sources he could see as well as the low sounds, the rustling of clothes, and the clicking of weapons. He looked at the younger and silently shook his head. Zero nodded and turned away, they both hid in the trees. Those were soldiers, armed soldiers. Even with their skills the risk was too high. He sighed and disappeared into the trees, followed by Proto. "Where to now? It's dark... we need a shelter because sleeping rough is not exactly the best thing." When they were away from the cave Zero put the bag over his shoulder again and stretched slightly.

"We'll go a little farther. If we're lucky we'll find at least an abandoned ruin." Proto glanced back and walked through the forest in hope to find a place that would offer them shelter before the sunset. Almost relieved, he pointed at a little roof ridge which was hardly recognizable behind the trees. Perhaps they’d be able to stay overnight because except for a few last smokes of fire there were no more traces of human life there. On the other's nod he headed for the house and sighed with relief as it actually turned out to be an abandoned ruin. The roof was still intact and only a third of a wall was missing; it would offer them protection at night and make sure that noone could see them there. Proto opened the door cautiously, looked around briefly, then went in and gave way to Zero.  
The younger one entered and let the bundle from his shoulders slide down first, then he rubbed his shoulders a bit, set up one of the fallen chairs and sat down carefully; he sighed relaxed when it was strong enough to sit on.  
"Tomorrow I'm carrying this," Proto muttered pointing at the bag as he closed the door behind them. They’d covered several miles that day, the sounds of the front were audible only for their ears and at any rate they were already on a rather calm German terrain.  
The younger cyborg nodded slightly as his gaze wandered around the room. Just like in every other house he'd seen so far, there was nothing but chaos there. Everything was left standing and lying where it was.  
"What do we do now? I'm afraid… the way we look now is conspicuous..." he looked at the other one as the latter soon settled on a chair too.

"Honestly, I have no idea." Proto shrugged his shoulders. "I’ve been thinking of fleeing across the border and just, well, hiding somewhere. Should the Allies really win... and I’m assuming they will... there will be turmoil and I don't want to be part of it." Proto sighed softly as he leaned back and looked at the other.  
Zero's thoughts were racing as he looked at the older cyborg. "Are you sure that this... will be the end of the war?" he asked carefully. The image of his comrades on the battlefield came to his mind. Did they actually die in the last days of the war for nothing? He swallowed hard. Probably it was for the better. What would happen if they fell into the hands of the Allies? What would happen then? The younger man swallowed and wiped his eyes. "You want to go to the border? Where... where exactly do you want to go?"

"Actually ... I was on the way to Austria ... before I heard about you and turned around. I think ... that would be the best solution, right?" He looked questioningly at Zero, not sure himself about what to do. It hadn’t been easy for him to wander around the country inconspicuously alone, would be harder in two.

Zero noddled. "I see... Austria... why there?" he asked quietly as he looked at the older one. A slight aversion to the native country of the one who was to blame for all of the misery arose in Zero.  
Proto couldn't help smiling. The other's face betrayed his thoughts. "I come from Austria... Salzburg, to be precise. And well... I'd love to go back again..."

The younger man nodded slightly. "Homesick?" He smiled benignantly as the other nodded with a smirk. Perhaps the idea of crossing the border wasn’t so bad. They could both use a new start. The younger cyborg smiled slightly and nodded. "Alright ... to Austria we go. Only... before that we should find other clothes, I'm afraid." He looked at both himself and Proto and smirked. The uniforms were anything but inconspicuous, even though they looked scuffed after all they’d been through. "Let's check out the the wardrobes to see if there's still something left. Otherwise... we’ll look for clothes on the way to the border." He stood up and stretched slightly before going to the next room and searching in the wardrobes and commodes there.

The older cyborg stood up and followed Zero in the next room, watched him for a few seconds and began checking out the wardrobes too. Blinking he fished two sweaters out of the chest of drawers and picked them up.  
"What do you think? With the trousers it doesn't look like uniform anymore..." He turned to Zero and picked up one of them. "I think they should fit. The other stuff... shall we leave it all here?"  
Zero looked at the sweater and cocked his head. "Well... is it nostalgia or something else... I’d like to take them. We'll put them in the backpack." He fished the backpack out of the closet and shook it. Dust trickled down on the floor but it seemed to be usable.

Proto nodded and continued searching. The former owners would hardly return therefore it would be fine to choose something else.  
The younger cyborg took offf his uniform, slipped into the sweater and stowed the jacket into the backpack.  
"What new clothes can do," he murmured absently. "One almost feels a new person."  
He watched Proto while the latter changed clothes too and smiled slightly. Apparently not only their features were the same, in physique, too, he could find no difference from him. He took the uniform and stuffed it, along with a few other things, in the backpack.  
"We’ll stay here a little longer and have rest. Tonight we’ll we go on."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

A little over a year had passed since their meeting and their common escape. A small one-room apartment on the outskirts of Vienna had become their new home. The German Empire was about to fall, the Allies were coming closer to ultimate victory; it was only a matter of time until the pointless war would finally be over.  
Zero was sitting by the window and looking at the people on the streets below, curious and scared, waiting for Proto to come back, like every day. While the older cyborg moved among the inhabitants almost without fear, Zero himself had rarely left the apartment. In the other's company he was insecure, he had a fear of being recognized as a cyborg. Recently the aversion towards soldiers had risen further and he didn’t want to know what would happen had the people learned what Proto and he really were. He was afraid to reveal himself, because he found it almost unnaturally hard to address the elder with his first name. Again and again 'Proto' would slip from his lips and make him freeze for a moment when he noticed the mistake. Proto, or Camui that was his real name, had considerably less trouble with introducing himself, acting like people around him and being one of them. The older one had begun to earn as a street artist drawing portraits of passersby in order to pay the rent for their small accommodation.

A slight smile crossed Zero's lips when he saw the other walking through the crowd. He raised his hand briefly waving when he saw Proto noticed his gaze, then he went away from the window and sat down onto the sofa.

Proto smiled slightly when he saw the other one standing at the window. It was soothing to know that someone was waiting for him, and the other was still there. It made him sad that he couldn’t persuade Rei to accompany him outside but he wouldn’t force him.  
And yet, that day he’d learned something that would require the younger to accompany him. At the marketplace he’d overheard some passersby, German scientists on the run from the war end.  
He unlocked the door and threw the small bag on the commode.  
'I'm back," he shouted out of habit and slumped onto the sofa beside Zero.  
The younger cyborg chuckled.  
"Glad to see you. How was it?"

Proto unpacked the little purse. It wasn’t much but it would cover the rent.  
"Well, it was fairly quiet but I heard something interesting. At the market place, there were a few scientists on their way from Germany. They said that the research project GHOST was discontinued and the documentation would be destroyed. They said the place was near the border, in three days, the SS would destroy everything there."  
He looked at Rei, his face seemed tense. As useful as the information in his field of vision was, as disturbing and flawed it appeared to be in respect to the other. Or maybe it was just an illusion due to their external likeness. He didn’t know whether it was the same with Zero but he attributed it mostly to this likeness and to the fact of him being the prototype. In a situation like that errors were a normal thing.  
"Documentation? Files on us? " Zero blinked slightly as if waking from a trance.

"Do you think there's something about you ... and me there?" he asked almost hesitantly.  
"I'm pretty sure there is. Although there were no more units in action as far as I know, but there should be records. In the past ... I didn't care about what happened, but now I’d like to learn more about it. What was changed, what was done. I... remember fragments of my past, but... I've always felt something is missing."  
Proto's sad voice sent goosebumps down Zero’s spine. He knew all too well the feeling of not being whole. Back there on the battlefield he remembered a part of his past at the sight of the torn picture in his hand, and yet a few more parts of his past were missing.  
"You want to break in there and get those records, am I right?"  
Proto nodded slightly, even though he was sure that was a rhetorical question.

"Then we should go soon, due to recent developments we could have less than three days."  
The older nodded slightly and smiled satisfied about having the other by his side again.  
"Then let's leave now. I'll pay the rent, so we still have our apartment when we return."  
He smiled and stood up. The risk of being caught or die was high, but somehow it made him want to take the risk all the more.  
When he came back Rei’d changed and was waiting for him at the window. He chuckled, changed and noddled.  
"We can leave the key in the flower pot, so that we can get inside when we get back."  
Rei nodded. "Good, let's go. The clock is ticking."  
It made him nervous to know that they might soon learn everything about their past and what had really happened. But he was glad, and thus he merrily joined the older one as he was heading out.

The building seemed more inconspicuous than they expected. The large concrete box in the middle of a paled area looked like an abandoned shadow in the livid light of the rising sun. They’d run the whole distance without a break, still it took them longer than they hoped. The sun was pushing its rays through the stubborn morning clouds as Proto and Zero came closer to the building in disguise.  
The light didn’t lie, on the grounds and in the building they could detect no human motions. Without a single word, understanding each other only with looks, they got up, silently crept closer and looked at the locked door.

A padlock - was that really how serious they were? Proto exchanged a questioning look with Zero. What if it was a trap? What if there was nothing there of what they hoped to find? They were unarmed, and probably they were powerless against a SS division, even with their own skills.

Zero shared the older’s doubt at the sight of the abandoned shadow. But what if it was just a coincidence? What if no one thought anyone would be interested in those documents, let alone know about them? He looked at the other and nodded almost imperceptibly as he put his hand on the padlock, and opened it without any effort. He pushed the door open, listening with all his senses inside the darkness that awaited them. No noise was heard, it was dead silent.

Rei looked through the dark and saw the shelves on the walls, the boxes on the floor. Nothing was sorted or put to order, rather it looked like a hodgepodge of paper.  
Slowly they entered the room, looked around and checked out the shelves.  
They were both engrossed in the documents when they heard a faint whistle. First from afar, but it grew louder and louder. Zero looked up, questioningly winking at the other when suddenly he had to struggle to stand as the building began to shake from a blast. Judging by the whistle of rockets that were pouring down, it was attacked by flying squadrons.

Proto looked at the younger, holding onto a shelf as the ground shook again like during an earthquake.  
"We have to get out. NOW!" he cried as another attack shook the walls.  
In response, the younger one turned around and ran. The whistling of rockets and mortars got more frequent and could no longer be ignored. He’d almost reached the door when the building swayed under a grenade blast so much that it blew him off his feet. When he tried to straighten up, his gaze fell on the ceiling, there was a large gaping hole in it, and the ceiling seemed to be coming closer.

Proto's cry and his reaction brought Zero back to reality within seconds. A burning beam came loose from the ceiling and fell down. Had the other cyborg not reacted and pushed him aside it would’ve buried Zero beneath.  
The older's action had not only saved his life but also blocked the easy way out through the door. There was no choice but to find another way. Since the way to the front was blocked they had to find a backdoor, or make one, if necessary. At the same time, they both ran back inside the hall, searching for another way out.  
"There's a door there!"

From a distance, the door wasn’t seen, but it was different now that they were almost right in front of it. It looked unstable but when Zero tried to open it he had to use more strength than he thought. The heavy steel door opened, revealing a makeshift laboratory under flickering lights.

This part of the building seemed to be unaffected by the strikes so far. The shelves and devices were still standing upright and it all looked like usual mess. The slightly bluish light flickered under the seldom dull-sounding explosions. Probably the generator had been hit and it was just a matter of time until the light failed completely. The two exchanged a quizzical look before walking forward stealthily. ‘We were of importance, we meant something.’ There was no one in the laboratory and yet both had a feeling of being observed.  
Due to the muffled sounds of explosions there was false sense of security there, which allowed both to focus themselves on the contents of the shelves and cabinets.

"Ca… Camui?" Rei looked up from the file he’d pulled out of the closet and looked at the other who was raiding the medicine cabinet on the other side of the aisle.  
"These are the files on the successful cyborgs. About you and me..." he continued muttering as the other looked at him.  
Camui gulped slightly, closed the cupboard and was about to turn to Rei when he noticed two glowing red dots in the dark. He couldn't help letting out a faint, startled cry as the dots disappeared.  
"Did you see them too?" Rei's question reassured him that he wasn't hallucinating. The older one looked around concentrating all his skills on his surroundings, trying to perceive every little noise.

“There’s … a heartbeat there?” He looked at Rei beside him. It wasn't his, the beating was weaker, irregular and... came from a different direction. He looked through the darkness in the back of the room, focusing on the heartbeat he perceived from there.  
He was so focused that he couldn't help a quiet gasp when he noticed a body on one of the medical chairs. They resembled electric chairs and were equipped with loops and all sorts of other things meant to investigate and test those who sat in them.  
The red dots which they saw earlier reappeared as the cyborg slowly opened his eyes.  
Rei gasped. He thought he'd be the last in that cruel game with human lives and dignity but he underestimated Nazi’s lust for power.  
The cyborg was no older than thirty, slim and visibly very weak. Probably he’d survived the transformation only with difficulty and the current conditions rendered it impossible to take care of him. Red eyes were looking their way apathetically, not really perceiving or analyzing anything.

Slowly they approached the body fixed on the chair. The eyes looked at them, yet there was nothing but emptiness in them. Whoever this man might have been once, there was nothing left of his previous existence anymore.  
"He is too weak. They left him here to..." Rei paused. He wasn’t sure if the man in front of them understood them and realized what the Nazis were doing with the building. He could likely feel the vibrations and hear the bombings but neither of the two was sure whether he realized they’d left him there alive to certain death.  
Slowly Camui stepped closer, he was looking at the cyborg in front of him while he picked up the file that lay on the table next to that cyborg.  
"Nitro ..." he muttered under his breath as he read the name on the cover.  
Rei stepped closer and leaned over Camui's shoulder to be able to read.  
"They wanted to have another successor, but apparently something went wrong. >The object is not viable. Due to the failures and the current situation, the top military have ordered immediate termination and destruction of the researches in the GHOST project.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

It took them nearly three days to return. Camui threw the bag in the corner carelessly and lay down on the sofa. He sighed with relief and stretched slightly as he watched Rei who was as tired as himself slump into a chair.  
"Finally we’re back," muttered the younger and briefly closed his eyes.  
On the way back they barely talked to each other, but both knew what the other was thinking about. The relief of the G.H.O.S.T. project finally being closed was overshadowed by the tragic sight of the cyborg in the lab. Rei heaved a sigh, got up again, went into the small kitchen and returned with two glasses of water.

Camui nodded silently as he took the glass. He watched Rei as the latter picked up the bag, threw the files on the table and searched through them.  
Rei swallowed as he saw his name on one of the plain brown folders. His life, his past and his destiny was what it contained. Reluctantly, he sank into the chair again, flipped through and lost himself in another world.  
Motionlessly Rei was staring at the words, at the random collection of files that his once best friend had written. Sober remarks about what they‘d turned him into. Since the moment on the battlefield when he was supposed to die, he would ask himself what had happened, but all the notes were of no use.  
Rei winced as the older threw one of the files on the table and wanted to fix the bandage on his hand that had come off. The younger cyborg couldn‘t help smiling as he put down the folder and stood up. He knelt in front of the sofa and reached out for bandage.

"I meant to thank you for saving my life." He smiled slightly as he grasped his counterpart’s hand and began to apply the bandage. On the way back they hadn’t talked much, each of them being immersed in their own thoughts.  
The older one smiled slightly and nodded.  
"Don't mention it," he muttered as he put away the rest of the bandage. It wouldn’t take long for the wound to heal but until then the dressing was the best solution. People around them would probably freak out if they saw the wires which their bodies partly consisted of.

Rei stood up and sat back down on the sofa, he put the file on the table for the other one.  
"Somehow … it's frustrating to read," he muttered under his breath.  
"How come?" Camui took the glass and looked at him questioningly.  
"I hoped to find something... about my life... before. But all the notes… begin the moment I woke up as Zero."  
"Hm it's probably because these are only the medical records. I don't know if there were personal too." Camui fished for Rei's file and flipped through it absentmindedly.  
"Your file... is written much more personally than mine… or Nitro's," he murmured.  
Handwritten notes on the edges, brief comments on post-its... all that looked like the person who’d maintained the document had really taken care of and attended to the cyborg’s wellbeing.

In return, his record was an almost sober collection of facts and data, no real relation to the person he might have been before beginning his existence as Proto.  
He put the file back on the table and rummaged through the other records. He’d searched the shelves and boxes at random and taken everything that seemed interesting at first glance. There had to be something on their previous lives there!

Camui leaned back frustrated, closed his eyes, sighed and looked at the other again.  
"What do we do now? Shall we stay here?"  
The younger man blinked thoughtfully.  
"There’s no reason to leave. No one knows… who we are. We could… start anew... somehow," he muttered and grew quiet.  
He knew all too well what it meant to start anew. To start a new life. He’d have to go out, find a job and interact with people.  
Although Rei seemed outwardly calm and quiet, the other cyborg saw very well how nervous he was. He’d panick when he thought of encountering people, introducing himself, talking to them or having other contact whatsoever.  
"We can take things slow. The elderly lady here is happy to have us as tenants so long as we help her from time to time." Camui smiled slightly.  
The petite landlady was already a little older and had immediately agreed to rent them the small room at an affordable price if they helped her out from time to time.  
Rei nodded slightly.

"If you don't mind being the only breadwinner for now."  
Not being able to help him rankled Rei, but he just didn’t know what he should do. At any encounter he would become tense right away struggling to decide between running away or attacking. He felt like he was a threat to his surroundings.

"I'm back."  
It’d become a ritual in recent decades to announce when he entered the apartment. Even if Rei had registered him much earlier and had thus left his place at the window, which he always occupied during the day as long as he was alone.  
A few years passed, the old lady died a while ago but she’d given them the house where they lived since then.

While Camui continued to earn as a street artist, Rei couldn't bring himself to go outside. The fear of the younger generation of people and unfamiliar situations was getting worse as days passed. Thus Rei had further withdrawn into himself, he trusted only Camui and eventually stopped to go outside. In recent years the environment had changed. The little house on the outskirts was surrounded by several parks and a university campus. More than once had curiosity driven Camui onto the site, the thirst to know what was taught lured him there.

It was a technical university specializing in biotechnology and biochemistry. He’d been able to find that out. More than once he considered approaching a student to ask what they knew about the technology of Rei and himself. But he always rejected the plan, on the one hand for fear of Rei's reaction and on the other hand for fear of what would happen if anyone knew after all those years what they were. Rei was still afraid of that. Not of being accused of what had happened, but of ending up as a test subject in a laboratory.  
"How was today?"

Rei's voice interrupted the older's thoughts.  
"Uhm, not bad. The weather was fine and the people were more generous." He emptied out the bag and sat down on the sofa. "That should be enough for two weeks."  
Rei nodded as he watched the other.  
"What's wrong? Something's bothering you. It’s written all over your face."  
He smiled as the older cyborg sank down on the sofa sighing quietly.  
"I... feel like something’s missing. I need to do something; I need a goal or a task… anything."

He looked at the other. Over the years neither of them had changed physically. Their transition into cyborgs had also apparently stopped their biorhythms. How happy he'd be to know more about it, since the files were useless. They had been the first ones, then they became their own experiments and yet they had no idea of their capabilities.  
"What do you mean? What are you… going to do?"  
Rei was nervous when the older lapsed into silence; he looked at him tensely.  
"I… want to know more about us. I want to… study."

He reached for his pocket and fished out the brochures he’d found on the campus.  
Rei's eyes widened as he realized what the other said.  
"You ... want to study? At the university? Camui ... that would mean revealing ourselves. You and your present knowledge would shock everyone there."  
Rei's voice cracked in panic and he stared at Camui.  
He’d expected that reaction. The older one sighed and looked Rei in the eye.

"I'm determined. I don’t want to hide my whole life. I want to know more. About what’s in store for us. What if something happens? To you or to me…. Neither of us really has a clue of our functioning…" He raised his hand when Rei tried to interrupt him.  
"Back there on the battlefield, saving you... was a coincidence. I'm neither a scientist nor an engineer. All I know came from files or frightened helpers. Something could go wrong. That's what I want to prevent. In case something goes wrong… No one knows how long we’re going to function. What can cause a malfunction and what hazards there are for us or for others."  
Camui swallowed his last words. Those thoughts occurred to him a few times.  
Would he be able to save Rei from an unknown dysfunction?

Would Rei save him?  
Were they just ticking time bombs that would explode at some point?  
Rei looked down. He knew the other was right and yet it was hard for him to admit it.  
"Why the university? Can't you stay here? Read books… and such? Use the internet?"

Rei was still suspicious of the Internet and all the other modern things in the past 70 years, and yet he enjoyed using them. He could stay inside, avoid encounters with people and still keep track of everything.  
"It feels like the ceiling’s falling down, Rei. I have to get out of here. I can’t bear it being locked up," Camui was irritated.

Yes, the younger one might be afraid but he couldn’t ask him to lock himself inside. He wouldn’t endure it; he’d rather die than lock himself in prison in his own head. He’d had enough of pondering over everything that could happen and not being able to think clearly.  
Rei winced and looked at the older one. Fighting with him over it again and again made him uncomfortable and yet he felt like their fights were more and more frequent lately. However at the moment he was confused by the fact that after each fight he felt like a part of his memories was missing.

Camui denied that something had happened and yet he could never get rid of that uneasy feeling.  
He remembered red flicker in the eyes before everything was black and his memories tried to put everything in order.  
Trapped in his own thoughts, he didn’t notice when he’d stood up and approached Camui who was sitting on the sofa.  
"You can't leave me alone."

Camui raised his eyes and swallowed. So it was happening again. His arm slid up like remote-controlled and intercepted the cyborg’s blow in the initial movement.  
In one motion he stood up, grabbed the younger and held him. He knew that engaging in a fight with a furious cyborg could only trigger further malfunctions thus he had no other choice than to do the most obvious.

He moved his hand, grabbed the little switch on Rei's neck and turned it off.  
Right away the body in front of him slumped. Only Camui could hear the low humming of the system that was turning off. He caught the body and let him slowly sink down on the sofa.  
Those failures of the younger one when he would attack him were growing more frequent. The only way to prevent major damage was to stop the system and perform a proper cold start.  
Camui gazed at the lifeless body on the sofa. Softly sighing he flipped the switch again, turned around and went out when he made sure that the other's systems restarted.

He just needed to get some air. The longer he stayed in the apartment, the greater was the urge to go out. Why couldn’t the younger understand that? Did his fear of people really get so strong?  
Camui sighed heavily as he wandered through the park. He was getting angry at Rei who tried to keep him by his side by all means, even by force, if need be. The attacks on him became more frequent and sometimes he wasn’t sure whether the younger didn’t realize what he was doing.

What were the causes of those failures? How come nothing like that ever happened to him? Camui was sure the younger would talk to him about that, at least out of fear, but there had been nothing.  
Frustrated, he leaned against a tree. Should he just disappear and leave Rei alone? It might be better, and yet he didn’t have the heart to let the other down.  
Frustrated, he clenched his fists and struck against the trunk. The pain that shot through his hand almost freed his mind from those thoughts and he slowly sank down on to the ground. It couldn’t go on like that ... it couldn’t.  
"Are you alright? Do you need help?"  
Considerate voice brought Camui out of his thoughts and he looked up. Two young men were standing in front of him, looking at him anxiously.

"No thanks, it’s all right. Don’t worry, I..." he saw the two guys and paused in mid-sentence. He’d forgotten where he was when he hit the tree. When he did something like that, it was in their room where he was breaking the furniture into kindling but there was no risk of being exposed. Now he was sitting on the campus lawn, and his hand was bleeding. The blow had torn the skin and injured the veins. The injury wasn’t bad, but it showed the other parts of his body, the metal wires and connections, as well as the black oil mixed with his blood that was running over his hand.  
He looked up again, expecting to see scared faces but he was wrong. The two boys were still standing motionless in front of him, but rather than fear, in their eyes there was worry mixed with curiosity. 

"I'm fine ..." he murmured softly, trying to hide his hand from the boys’ eyes. The situation was somewhat overwhelming, and yet, even if his systems were functioning in high risk mode, he still had a feeling that there was nothing to fear.  
"Your hand is hurt," muttered one of the guys kneeling down slowly and pulling a handkerchief out of his book bag. He carefully put the handkerchief on to Camui’s hand before looking at him.  
The behavior of the two irritated the cyborg. He’d always expected people would panic if they knew what they were, but the two boys seemed as cool as cucumber. His systems, too, showed no signs of increased reaction in them. He looked questioningly from one to another, and yet he couldn’t say anything.  
"You’re not afraid of what you’ve seen?"  
A slight smile played over the boys’ faces.  
"No... not really. Why, should we? We’re more curious and intrigued. This is Alex, and my name’s Jack."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Camui blinked. Should he reveal his name? Could he trust them? His gaze slid appraisingly over the two guys. Alex had short dark brown hair, he was thin and quite tall. He seemed pretty calm. Jack looked the exact opposite. His green eyes were framed by black curls that matched his apparently quite spirited appearance. Both looked grown up and exuded a certain maturity.  
"My name’s Camui," he murmured quietly. "Thank you very much." He nodded at the handkerchief on his hand which covered the wound.  
"Do you need help or... it heals by itself?" Jack's curiosity rang in his words as his gaze rested on Camui’s hand.  
"It heals by itself... it's not the first time." Camui smiled slightly. He could literally see how questions were racing through their minds.

"Are you… a cyborg?" Alex’s statement phrased as a question made Camui laugh for a while. At his hesitant nod Jack let out a cry of joy, which he immediately suppressed with his hands.  
Camui raised his eyebrow questioningly but there was no other response from Jack than an excited chuckle.  
"I... I'm sorry." Jack bowed slightly as he noticed the confused look of the man in front of him. "Uhm, Alex and I... we both study biochemistry, -technology and -mechanics. And well, our dream is to make a cyborg after graduation, this technique... fascinates us, from a medical point of view too, in the form of prosthesis with hydraulics and all that."

Camui blinked slightly as he tried to understand the boy's torrent of words.  
"To see a real cyborg sit here is a miracle..."  
Jack stopped when Alex put a hand on his arm.  
"You... seem a little... scared and insecure. Could it be... that you’re running away from something... or someone?"  
Both Camui and Jack blinked slightly at Alex’s words. Was his uncertainty that increased at the disclosure of his name and existence that obvious?  
"Don’t worry, no one will know who or… what you are. We don’t want to cause any problems for you." Alex smiled slightly and Camui could see nothing wrong in the young man’s eyes. Apparently he could really trust them.

When Rei woke up, he was alone. Again, a glance at the clock confirmed that something had happened but he couldn’t remember what it was. He tried to ignore the agitation as he saw that Camui seemed not to be at home, but the longer the other was absent the more nervous was Rei. Had the older one really left him this time? Where did he go and what should he do without him? His gaze wandered uneasily back and forth from the clock to the door, hoping the other would finally come back. However, even after two hours Camui didn’t return. Maybe... maybe he should go look for him? What if something happened and he needed help?  
Reluctantly he stood up, came to the door and opened it. He felt all his systems immediately fall into high alert and he was even more nervous. What was wrong with him? Why had that fear built up so much over the last years? Their life had become calmer, no one really talked about the events of the war, and yet behind every wall, behind every corner he could see a soldier, someone who wanted to hurt Camui and him. He had nightmares about the war, in his dreams he saw everything that had happened and what they could possibly go through over again. Nitro was only an example of the lust for power of the people. He hadn’t forgotten the poor cyborg from the warehouse, and he knew the files under his bed by heart. He sighed and shook off the thoughts, trying to concentrate on finding the older cyborg without being too affected by the eventual panic.

He wandered through the streets until he came to a park. That had to be the university campus Camui had mentioned. Was he there? Rei’s glance scanned the park; there was virtually no one there which made his search easier. He stopped when he detected Camui leaning against a tree... apparently chatting with two young men. Everything inside him screamed to run back to the apartment where he was safe, but he had to know whether Proto would come back to him or not. Step by step he forced himself to approach the small group.  
No one seemed to have noticed him, they appeared to be so engrossed in their conversation. How come Camui made friends so easily? How come he could trust people again? Rei didn’t understand it and it irritated him. Seeing how relaxed the older one was around strangers made him a little jealous. Slowly he approached the small group and looked more closely. His gaze slid over Camui and stopped at his hand. A handkerchief was tied around it and there were traces of red blood and black oil on his hand and on his fingers. Proto was hurt? Had those two done that to him? They forced him to that conversation with knowledge of what he was? Rei quickly approached them, prepared to fight to set Camui free.

Camui had lost track of time in the conversation that developed between Jack, Alex and him. Neither of them had questioned him about his past, it was all about his life in general. There were a few things about him that he kept to himself, he concealed where he came from and who’d made him what he was, but it seemed to be all right with the boys. He didn’t mention Rei because he didn’t want to draw the other cyborg into that.  
"It’s time for me to go home," he murmured as his gaze fell on Jack's watch.  
"Oh it's so late?" Jack looked at his watch. "We should go home too, tomorrow we should get up early again."  
He sighed dramatically and grinned widely as Camui chuckled. He noticed the movement out of the corner of his eye just in time to jerkily pull Jack out of the impact angle of the other cyborg who’d appeared behind him. With a cry of surprise Jack landed next to him on the lawn as Camui jumped to stop Rei before another attack.

The latter had recovered from the initial surprise and prepared for a second blow as Proto’s hand grabbed and stopped his fist.  
"What's gotten into you, Rei? Calm down..." He wrapped his arms around the younger one and held him with an iron grip until his resistance subsided and finally ebbed.  
"It's all right, don’t panic, Rei. Everything's fine."  
While he was quietly soothing Rei, he loosened his grip and looked at him. The other‘s eyes flickered again slightly, but he seemed to slowly calm down.  
"What's gotten into you? What are you doing here?" Briefly he looked at Jack and Alex who were watching them half scared.

Rei’s vision cleared slowly as his attention fell on Camuis hand again. Carefully he slid his fingertips over the handkerchief.  
"They’ve hurt you... I... wanted… to help..." he murmured without raising his eyes.  
A little smile crept onto Camui’s face.  
"You wanted to save me?" The older one smiled slightly as he let go of Rei and looked at him. "There’s no need to, no one’s done anything to me."  
Rei’s gaze wandered to the handkerchief around Camui’s hand again and he grabbed it.  
"What's this then?" he murmured as his fingers gently glided over the cloth.  
"Don’t blame them, this... is my fault." He looked down, watching Rei’s fingers caress the cloth.

"Your fault? Why? Camui? What happened? When I woke up... you were gone, something happened and... I can’t remember again."  
Camui swallowed. Rei sounded desperate and it made him sad. He’d really considered leaving the younger one alone and now this burden of letting him down became heavier.  
He sighed quietly.  
"You... had another failure. Lately the moments when you completely lose control have grown more frequent. You get aggressive and attack me. Mostly... I've only one chance not to hurt you, that is... switching you off for a few seconds."  
Rei swallowed at the elder’s words. He had attacked him? He was so dangerous? That Camui had to… switch him off? The younger one was shaking slightly as all possible scenarios played out in front of him.  
"Do you... do you have any idea what might be the cause?" he murmured, looking at the other with hope.  
"Unfortunately, not yet. I’m afraid they’re internal errors, whether mechanical or electronical... I don’t know."

Camui shrugged and felt even more helpless when he saw the hope disappear out of his friend's eyes, the latter downright withdraw in his shell.  
Camui winced as he heard someone coughing behind. He’d completely forgotten about the two students. His gaze slid to the two boys who’d probably witnessed their conversation. He nervously glanced at Rei, who seemed still too deep in his own thoughts.  
"Uhm..." Camui didn’t really know what to say. The situation and their conversation had revealed everything one could find out about them.

"He is… a сyborg too?" Jack’s open stating of the fact brought Rei back from his thoughts and he stared at the boy in front of him.  
"You... told them?" Rei's voice trembled slightly as his eyes wandered to Camui.  
"Yes... there was really no chance to avoid that. They’re harmless students, Rei." He watched the younger closely, waiting for him to try to attack the two guys again. But nothing happened. Rei just stood there in silence, looking at the two.  
"Maybe... maybe we can help," Jack muttered. "We couldn’t help overhearing and... well, Alex and I, we both study here and... the malfunction Camui described... sounds pretty much like wearing of a control unit. This explains operation failures and the gaps in the memory storage that seems to be connected to it."  
Rei and Camui looked at each other frowning.

Alex couldn’t help laughing because of the confusion of the two.  
"Jack... I think... that was too much technical blahblah in one sentence..."  
He looked at the two cyborgs, smiling slightly.  
"What he means is simply that you should perform a kind of maintenance and repair or replace faulty connections and units. Then the failures should be water under the bridge and everything should go back to normal."  
"But... how come I’m the only one… experiencing such failures? I’m… the youngest between the two of us..." Rei blinked as he sank down onto the grass.  
"That depends on stresses experienced by the individual components in the operating time. The higher the load, the higher the risk of wear and failures."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Camui blinked. Back then it didn’t even occur to him, how much more happened to the other. He sighed when he sank down onto the grass beside Rei.  
"The attack... that time... when we first met. I… should’ve been more precise. More cautious bearing in mind what might happen."

Rei looked at him and smiled slightly.  
"Idiot. None of us could know that and... without you I wouldn’t have been alive now. So stick your accusations someplace else, they’re uncalled-for." He looked at the older one before looking up at Jack and Alex. "Do you think you have the knowledge to..? Perform this inspection...?"  
"W... we? Uhm... well... I think so... The theory, in any case. As for practice... well, we’ve already built small units in class... If the technique is remotely the same... sure." Jack nodded confidently before frowning at Camui who was watching him silently laughing.  
"What's wrong? Why are you laughing? Are you skeptical of Alex’s and my abilities? If not, why are you laughing now?"  
"I'm sorry but... there's something I haven’t told you about us. We’re cyborgs, right... only we’re not from this era, so to say. Our technology... comes from the last century... World War II... More than 70 years ago."  
Alex and Jack blinked confusedly, staring at the two men in front of them as if they’d seen ghosts.  
Camui couldn’t help giggling at the sight of the two. He looked at them smiling.  
"Are you okay, or have you lost your tongues?"

His gaze slid over Jack whose mouth opened and closed repeatedly without really saying anything.  
"He walks the path of reversed evolution... A fish out of water," murmured Rei and smirked slightly. He was surprised the fact that the boys knew about their existence and their origin scared him less than he’d expected and feared.  
"From... from World War Two? But... how is that possible? In history books there’s nothing of cyborgs on the battlefield." Jack had recovered his voice, he was staring at them quizzically.  
"A secret project of SS. There were only a few soldiers and only three or four complete units." Camui glanced at Rei,  
"Counting yours back then... there were four.” “Our Delta units were actually the last ones on the battlefield," murmured the younger and looked at Jack.

"Then... almost 75 years ago there were cyborgs already? That... if one looks at you, were even properly operational? How cool is that??" The dark-haired whimpered with excitement and made the two cyborgs chuckle again.  
"I hope he's not always like this?" Rei’s questioning glance at Alex made the latter shrug almost apologetically.  
"Not always... but very often," he grinned and dodged Jack's fist that was coming his way.  
"Hey... that's mean!"

Pouting, Jack crossed his arms before he immediately refocused on the two.  
"Should we... should we perform the test? I'm assuming there are no documents, if it had been a secret project."  
"No, the files were destroyed shortly before the war ended. In any case, the most of them. We have got... a few of them, only there are no blueprints or anything like that there." Camui sighed quietly. Back then when they stole the files he was hoping to find blueprints there and was disappointed.  
Jack tilted his head and blinked thoughtfully.  
"That... makes things a little harder but it doesn’t mean it would be impossible."  
"Anyway, we’ll give it a try. We’re going to need only a few tools, a laptop... and a place where no one’s going to disturb us," Alex muttered to himself and looked at the two.

"Our house... noone would disturb us there. As for the tools or the laptop... you have to tell us exactly what you need. We only have a normal PC. I don’t think it will be enough."  
Camui twitched his shoulders and gave Jack and Alex a quizzical look.  
"Well, we need standard equipment... I’d say, a screwdriver, voltmeter, forceps, a soldering tool... new wires and an external hard drive. Then a bunch of cable and adapters in order to connect them to your... well... internal hard drives and motherboards," Jack muttered while jotting it all down on his Collegblog.

"It all sounds so unreal... and dangerous," murmured Rei as he listened to Jack's remarks.  
"Don’t worry you won’t feel anything. One can... as Camui says, one can turn you off. This is like narcosis. You’ll fall asleep and wake up only when it's all over."  
Rei noddled. He was nervous, very nervous and at the same time he realized that was probably his last chance if he didn’t want to lose Camui at some point or, what’s worse, injure or accidentally kill himself.  
"Don’t worry, Rei... I’ll be by your side. It will be all right." Camui looked at the younger and smiled encouragingly.

"Okay then... when will it be? The sooner the better," muttered Rei.  
"Now, I think by the weekend we should gather the necessary materials. That's in three days. Should we... come to your place or meet you here? For the former... we’re going to need an address."  
Jack blinked at the two while he stuffed his notebook back in his pocket.  
"We... will meet here. I’d say... at lunchtime." Camui didn’t want to give out their address right away. Although he trusted the boys pretty much, the trained caution still took over.  
Alex smiled slightly and nodded.  
"Okay. Then we meet here again Saturday noon. By then we’ll get everything we need."

After everything had been discussed and they looked at the two boys going away for a while, Camui and Rei too went home silently.  
"Do you think... it will really be all right now?" Rei murmured so quietly that even Camui couldn’t understand him at first.  
"Of course it will. I'm pretty sure the boys can fix you."  
Camui blinked at the younger quizzically as the latter held him by the wrist and made him stand still.  
"If... for any reason they can’t do it... then... then I don’t want you to turn me on again." Frantically he raised his hand at Camui’s attempt to protest. "Camui, I'm dangerous, for you... for me and for everyone else. What if someday I actually lose control and you can’t stop me? What if I kill you... and probably others? Camui, I'm scared... I’m scared to be a time bomb that’s going to explode at some point if Jack and Alex can’t fix anything."

Rei’s voice was growing quieter and Camui saw tears in the other’s eyes even if he tried not to show it.  
"Rei..." he swallowed hard. He understood the other’s thoughts all too well, oftentimes he’d considered not re-activating Rei at another failure.  
But each time his conscience wouldn’t let him leave the switch untouched. He too was afraid that the two students wouldn’t be able to do anything, that their technology would be too old and worn to repair, and yet he didn’t want to give up immediately. They’d already endured that long and Camui hoped things would go off all right.  
"I... can’t promise you, Rei," he murmured. "We... we’ve been through so much together, I don’t even want to think about losing you."  
Rei swallowed slightly as he heard the older’s words. It was true, they’d been through a lot, and that had connected them closer than someone else. Probably closer than a meeting under normal circumstances ever would.  
Camui smiled slightly as he put his arm around Rei and slowly they went back home together. Now they only had to wait for the weekend and hope that their lives would change considerably thereafter.

The whole morning Rei was walking around the apartment like a caged tiger. It was Saturday and Camui had gone to meet the two students on campus. Now Rei was alone with his thoughts and fears. Would the boys really make it, getting his systems back to work? Would he feel differently after the procedure? How much would it change his life? In recent days, Camui and he had almost got used to going for a walk every now and then, shopping and meeting other people. There had never been any incidents, but would the intervention stop them completely? The warning messages when strangers trespassed a certain radius around him? He envied Camui’s ability to move through the world so openly.  
Sighing, he sank onto the sofa, only to get up again shortly after. His gaze wandered to the door when he heard the key in the lock.

"We're here," Camui shouted softly as he opened the door and looked around before letting the two boys enter.  
Jack let out a gasp, put both bags down on the floor and looked around. Alex too was was carrying things, they’d even pushed a bag into Camui’s hand.  
"It... almost looks like you’re going to move in here?" Rei muttered when he looked at the bags.  
Jack grinned widely.  
"Neeeeee, fear not... these are the things we need or maybe not. We just brought everything that seemed useful. We’ll see what and how we’re going to use."  
Rei nodded slightly. The more he looked at the bags and the boys the higher the tension rose in him.  
"We can start right now," Jack muttered as he put the laptop on the table and turned it on.  
Camui watched the guys as they were preparing instruments and other equipment and discussing the procedure.

He noticed the tension in Rei and hoped the other wouldn’t lose his courage. Somehow Camui was nervous everytime he had to turn Rei off. He knew the defense mechanisms they both had when someone came too close to them. So far he’d never encountered the mechanisms as Rei hadn’t acted consciously in the situation but now the younger one was in his right mind.  
"We can begin," Jack muttered and thus brought Camui back from his thoughts.  
"Hm, okay. Rei... has to lie down to be turned off."  
Jack nodded slightly.  
"Yeah, well, on the stomach because I assume that the connections are near the switch. Means the switch’s on the neck, the unit’s in the back. That’s the easiest for biological reasons, too."  
Camui nodded slightly. It was obvious even to him who’d only dealt with it once out of necessity.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

He turned to the younger, who’d been rooted to the ground. The tension was obvious to him and therefore he approached him very slowly, giving a sign to the two guys that they shouldn’t move. No one could tell if under stress he wouldn’t take any one of them as an enemy.  
"Rei? It’s all right. Everything will be okay," slowly approaching him he tried to talk the cyborg down and distract him. He had to act quickly and before the younger somehow launched into defense mode which is why he was glad that the other remained quiet and was just watching him.  
Rei felt his sensors would give up any moment out of overload. It seemed the risk reports and alarms flickering before his eyes didn’t want to stop. Even Proto sparked this reaction in him although the other cyborg‘s voice sounded calm and composed.  
When he felt the touch on his arm, his body responded on its own. His hand shot out trying to attack his counterpart and defend against him. Since his supposed attacker only grabbed him tighter and tried to clench him, it sparked even more defensive reactions in him. Wildly hitting around himself Rei tried to shake off his counterpart and find a way to escape, but he was further mercilessly held tight. Blinking irritated he felt the hand on his neck and clung convulsively before everything around him suddenly turned black.

When he touched Rei's arm, he expected many reactions but not the violent defense. It took some effort to hold the younger under control and to reach the switch on his neck at the same time. When he finally made it and the other collapsed in his arms, he was exhausted and soaked in sweat.  
Slowly he put Rei down onto the sofa and looked up at the two boys who’d watched the scene frightened.  
"Well... now it's your turn," he muttered and thus brought the two out of their stupor.  
Right away they nodded and began preparing the required control unit.  
"What's... happened there...?" Jack muttered as he examined the little box in Rei’s back more closely.  
The small metal box apparently containing and protecting the controller revealed several holes and cracks as Jack carefully dismantled and examined it.  
Camui blinked as he looked at the box. It was about ten centimeters wide, fifteen centimeters long and three centimeters tall.  
"That... must’ve been back then. I... didn’t know that," he muttered.  
"Back then? What exactly happened then?"Alex asked while trying to build a similar version from the existing materials.  
"When Rei and I met..." Camui muttered and remembered the moment on the battlefield.

"Rei’d been injured, an officer had shot a magazine of a machine gun at him. When I came there, he was still alive and I took him away with me. At that time I didn’t know everything about our whole technique. The researchers and staff didn’t tell us anything voluntarily and when one forced them, they only said fragmentary things if you asked for something particular. They were afraid of us, but not enough, and how can one specifically ask for something... that one has only vague understanding of?"  
Camui sighed and slumped into a chair.  
"I took Rei away, but I couldn’t fix or treat anything more than visible injuries. Fixing his left arm or giving him new legs. Everything else was beyond my knowledge or my abilities."  
Jack blinked.

"Wait, you mean you've attached new limbs to him? You had no idea about it and, given the circumstances, you’ve done a good job," the boy muttered while transferring individual components out of one box into another with a steady hand.  
"And this here you really couldn’t have guessed. You saved Rei’s life and soon it will surely be even better."  
"I was... I was so shocked to see Rei and to know that he’d actually been murdered and made into a cyborg because of me. At first I felt responsible for him, but over the years he became more important to me as a friend and companion. If it wasn’t for him, I don’t know if I could be here today," muttered Camui as he looked at the motionless body on the sofa.  
"Wait... you two were the last ones? I mean, have they made other cyborgs after you? Do you know anything about it?" Alex asked curiously, while further helping Jack.

"We’ve… only seen one. When I fled during a mission, four of my men followed me, we separated... I don’t know if anyone’s survived, and if so, for how long. Rei’s unit was the last one on a battlefield. Except for him, nobody from that unit survived. Shortly before the war ended we broke into a warehouse of the former SS where the G.H.O.S.T. files had been collected. Next to our files we encountered there one last cyborg. By the files... his name was NITRO. However, he was neither operational nor viable. Blind and deaf, according to records, almost immobile. They had left him in the warehouse. "  
"What... happened to him?" Jack almost didn’t dare to ask the question.  
"Shortly after I turned him off... the SS bombed the building and blew it up: Rei and I escaped only with great difficulty", Camui sighed quietly.

"We’ve taken our files, but they haven’t revealed much information about us. Mine contained a little more than Rei’s but it’s frustrating flipping through it when you don’t understand anything of what’s in there." He smiled wryly, then got up and disappeared into the small kitchen.  
Jack exchanged a quick glance with Alex before he focused on the small wires and connections of the control unit again.  
Camui sighed quietly as he leaned against the kitchen table and waited for the water to boil to make coffee. It was for the first time in ages that he spoke openly about the past again and it still distressed him just like before. Time and again he’d take the files out of the cabinet and try to leaf through them to understand something of their complicated structure only to give up frustrated a few hours later. The two guys in the living room were probably their chance to really understand something about their past, that important part of their past. He sighed when he made coffee and brought the cups on the small tray into the living room. The sight of Rei on the sofa made him a little nervous but he slowly sank back into the chair without saying a word.

"How’s it looking?" he asked quietly holding on the cup almost desperately.  
"Now, I’ve transferred the unit one-to-one, replaced and repaired what was loose or defective. I’ve found a recording unit that I'm trying to connect to my laptop. Presumably, it contains data from operations or something. Can you remember anyone trying to read data from you?" Jack muttered as he tried to connect the unit to their PC with all kinds of adapters and cables.


End file.
